Ariel in 'The Little Mermaid,' which was released in 1989, was a transitional role in how female characters were portrayed as independent and strong-willed in Disney's animated fairy tales.

Ariel in 'The Little Mermaid,' which was released in 1989, was a transitional role in how female characters were portrayed as independent and strong-willed in Disney's animated fairy tales. (Contributed Photo, WALT DISNEY PICTURES)

Opinion: How have Disney's fairy tale female characters changed?

Over several hundred years, fairy tales have been transformed to fit in with the changing cultural and moral trends of the masses, allowing stories to remain relevant across generations.

Stories of young women subjected to sleeping curses, for example, have existed for centuries, with the story of Sleeping Beauty probably most familiar. The beginning elements are generally similar: the princess, the fairies, the spindle and the enchanted sleep.

This is where things get interesting. In an early version by Giambattista Basile (circa 1634), the princess ends up getting impregnated in her sleep by a married king. She wakes up having given birth, falls in love with the king (read: her rapist), and he keeps her and the kids hidden as a second family. His wife finds out and tries not only to have the kids killed but also cooked and fed to the king. She fails and is executed, and the princess and her family live happily ever after.

Over the years, the story's violence was toned down so it could be repackaged as a tale for children. By the Brothers Grimm 1819 version, no one was trying to eat the princess' babies. Of course, the babies didn't exist because the rape was excluded (though I would bet that had more to do with avoiding topics related to sexuality than sexual violence toward women).

This was the trend. Kids' stories also left out the part of "Cinderella" where the stepsisters cut off pieces of their feet to fit the glass slippers, and the ending of "Snow White," where the evil queen is made to wear red-hot iron shoes and dance herself to death.

Today, most popular fairy tales are still targeted at children, so the violence remains minimal. Still, fairy tales have changed a great deal in the last century, thanks in large part to Disney. Including 1937′s "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," Disney's first animated feature, the company has released 12 films centered around female characters: Cinderella, Alice, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Pocahontas, Mulan, Tiana, Rapunzel, Merida, and, most recently, Anna and Elsa.

Interestingly, 30 years separate the stories of Aurora ("Sleeping Beauty") and Ariel ("The Little Mermaid"). "The Little Mermaid" marks a significant shift for the women of Disney's fairy tales, undoubtedly brought on by a cultural shift regarding women's abilities to control their destiny. Snow White, Cinderella and Aurora are women who essentially just have things happen to them, and then are rescued by mice, magical beings and, of course, men.

Ariel's situation, on the other hand, is self-imposed. To me, she is a transitional character; she is motivated to act by love for a man she doesn't know, and then she essentially ruins everyone's lives and needs rescuing from her prince and her dad. It's not perfect, but at least Ariel takes some initiative. Things are moving in the right direction.

But Belle ("Beauty and the Beast") is the real pioneer. She winds up in her precarious situation after taking her dad's place in the Beast's dungeon, effectively rescuing her father from certain death. When she attempts to run away, the Beast, indeed, has to save her, but she returns the favor by getting him back to the castle and tending his wounds.

Meanwhile, she hates misogynistic meatheads, she loves books, she doesn't take any of the Beast's nonsense, and she teaches him to be a better person. She causes another precarious situation back in her village by revealing the Beast's existence, but she is again acting out of love for her father. In the end, Belle's and the Beast's mutual ability to love saves him from the brink of death.

Since Belle, these women in Disney films are not waiting around, sleeping through the action or standing idly by until the guy with the sword comes to slay the dragon or kiss them awake. Instead they are wielding swords (or bows or frying pans), taking a stand, and rescuing their loved ones, their princes and themselves.

The evolution isn't limited to animation. Movies like "Ever After," "Enchanted" and "Ella Enchanted" and the TV show "Once Upon a Time" feature fairy tale women who have moved beyond being one-dimensional.

While the popularity of fairy tales has waxed and waned over the years, as long as they continue to evolve with us I can't see them fading from our consciousness.

Stephanie Karpeuk is a graduate of Parkland High School, a junior at Cedar Crest College and writer of a blog, applesanduranium.tumblr.com, where a version of this essay ran.